


Midas Touch

by Thunderfire69



Series: The IronStrange den [31]
Category: Avengers: Infinity War - Fandom, Doctor Strange - Fandom, Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Midas Touch, Pre-Slash, curse, i guess, open/ambiguous ending, unwanted power
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 19:58:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18105407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderfire69/pseuds/Thunderfire69
Summary: Tony can’t touch anyone.Because when he does, they turn to iron.





	Midas Touch

**Author's Note:**

> See if you can spot this week’s prompt: “I know I never told you this”

Tony was used to it by now. He had to be, after living his whole life with this curse. It made life hard, very hard, but he was getting through it, bit by bit. One of the hardest things was keeping the public from finding out. There’d been some really, really close calls. But he had a great team behind him, people dedicated to making sure stuff like this didn’t get out. 

 

As a kid, it had been utterly terrifying. His parents avoided touching him and letting him touch them like the plague, and Tony grew up terrified that he had some disease or something wrong with him. In hindsight, he hadn’t been exactly wrong. The day he’d found out, he’d only been about eight. 

 

No one had ever so much as shook his hand for his entire life, and by that point Tony was desperate for some sort of physical affection. He’d suffered through seeing others hug, or even just touch hands, and he wanted some of it for himself. It was selfish, sure, but it was hard not to be when you’d been deprived your entire life of something that everyone else got. 

 

Deciding that surely one hug from his best friend would be fine, Tony set out on Mission Hug Rhodey. The two spent the day together, and then Tony had wrapped his arms around Rhodey in a friendly hug. That’s when it happened, and when he found out. Rhodey grew stiff in his arms, and then suddenly went cold, colder than anything Tony had ever felt. 

 

His best friend had turned to iron in his arms.

 

Immediately, Tony ran home, babbling and crying and dragging the now-iron Rhodey behind him. Surprisingly, the weight didn’t bother him, despite him only being eight and not that strong; part of his curse meant that it was nothing to him to carry around any living being that he’d now turned to iron. His parents instantly told Rhodey’s parents what had happened, and Rhodey was sent off to some place Tony vaguely remembers to be called the Sanctum, and was back a week later whole and well, but Tony wasn’t allowed near him for a full year after the incident.

 

As he’d grown, Tony had learned to control his power a little. He knew it only affected living things, so he dedicated his time into becoming a mechanic. It was the only safe option he could think of; controlling his power wasn’t to a point where he could give hugs to whoever he wanted, but if he took someone’s hand, only their arm would turn to iron. Still an issue, but more manageable.

 

Which led to where Tony was today; a genius, who spent most of his days down in his lab where he could invent and craft without worrying about spreading his curse, and a celebrity who refused every handshake he was offered to a point where he was constantly ridiculed for it, since no one knew the truth and assumed he just thought he was above them. 

 

It was a hard, lonely life Tony led; sure, he had his friends, but the one girl he’d ever tried to kiss had turned to iron under his lips. Nick Fury had swooped in and sent her away to that Sanctum place again, then given Tony an entire speech about how dangerous these powers were and how careful he needed to be with them. It just made Tony feel more alone than ever, knowing Nick Fury, and no one else for that matter, understood.

 

What was currently making it harder was a certain snarky sorcerer constantly flirting with him when Tony knew it could never amount to anything. The moment he so much as took Stephen’s hand, the sorcerer’s arm would turn to metal, and he’d hate Tony for what he was and never speak to him again. 

 

Still, it was near impossible for Tony to act as if he wasn’t interested in Stephen at all. 

 

And then there was one night, where it was possibly about three am, and Stephen portalled into Tony’s lab.

 

“You should get some sleep. It’s late.” The way Stephen phrased it made it sound more like a command than a suggestion.

 

“Got to finish this upgrade,” Tony said insistently, reaching over to pick up a small screw from across his desk. Stephen’s hand landed atop Tony’s to try and stop his advances. And it immediately turned to iron.

 

“Oh,” Stephen said softly, studying the sight before him. Tony didn’t even look up, eyes trained on the gauntlet on his desk.

 

“I know I never told you, but…” Tony trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Then there was a small sucking sound and Stephen was lifting his hand up, which was now flesh and blood and not metal.

 

At Tony’s bewildered look, Stephen smiled. “The Sanctum’s been dealing with your victims for years. They taught me a thing or two.” 

 

Then he placed his hand back atop Tony’s. And this time it didn’t turn to iron.

 

“Simple immunity spell. Your powers are essentially useless on me.”

 

Tony stood up, and quickly, stepping alarmingly close to Stephen. “I won’t turn you to iron?”

 

“Not anymore.”

 

“Guess you and all your magical wizard men will have to deal with me having one less victim then, huh?” Tony was staring in wonder at Stephen, the only person he was able to touch. In the entire world, it was him. Tony was pretty sure he wouldn’t want it to have been anyone else.

 

“‘Magical wizard men’?” Stephen raised an eyebrow, and Tony laughed. 

 

“Magical wizard men,” he confirmed, then reached out to take Stephen’s hand in his again. This time, it didn’t change. It stayed the same, warm and real.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the story of Midas and put my own spin on it for this fic. I’d like to make a sequel to this at some time so please yell at me to!


End file.
